Generic Statins May Save Medicare $8.2 B

Increased use of generic cholesterol
drugs by the nation's seniors could reduce
total Medicare costs by $8.2 billion next
year, officials at Consumers Union (CU)
said. "Lower-cost cholesterol drugs are just
as effective and safe, and the savings from
switching to them could be dramatic,"CU
said in its on-line "Best Buy Drugs"report.

Much of the savings envisioned by the
consumer group would come from persuading patients to switch
from Pfizer's Lipitor to the generic lovastatin, or to generic versions
of Zocor (simvastatin), which are expected to reach the market later
this year.

Statins such as Lipitor are expected to cost Medicare and its beneficiaries
$14 billion next year alone, and the cost of these drugs could
reach as much as $215 billion between now and 2015about 11% of all
spending under the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, CU said.

According to CU, Lipitor should remain the drug of choice for
patients whose cholesterol is significantly elevated or who need a
more potent statin because they are at higher risk of heart attack and
stroke. Others who require only a modest reduction in cholesterol
should be switched to generics, the organization said.